ASHP Presents Award for Distinguished Leadership to Christopher Hatwig, Mark Siska

Pharmacists Honored for Advancements in 340B Services, Healthcare IT

ASHP today honored Christopher A. Hatwig, R.Ph., M.S., FASHP, President of Apexus, LLC, in Irving, Texas, and Mark H. Siska, B.S.Pharm., R.Ph., M.B.A. –Technology Management, Chief Pharmacy Informatics Officer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., with its Distinguished Leadership Award during the opening session of ASHP’s 53rd Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Anaheim. The pharmacists were recognized for their longstanding contributions to pharmacy services within hospitals and health systems through the 340B Drug Pricing Program and the adoption of healthcare information technology (IT) to improve patient care.

Established in 2001, the ASHP Award for Distinguished Leadership recognizes individuals who have achieved excellence in pharmacy practice leadership.

Hatwig is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the 340B Drug Pricing Program. He has an exceptional record of leading innovative and progressive pharmacy services in acute and ambulatory care settings. As the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) contracted 340B Prime Vendor, Apexus provides a variety of services to 340B stakeholders, including negotiating sub-340B pricing on brand and generic medications. Apexus also offers live and virtual educational programs — 340B University and 340BU OnDemand — to support 340B entities and increase their compliance with the program’s standards. Hatwig works closely with HRSA’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs and frequently advocates on behalf of the 340B program to Congress and healthcare decision-makers.

Before joining Apexus, Hatwig was Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services and Value Analysis Programs at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, where he oversaw one of the nation’s largest and most progressive safety net ambulatory pharmacy programs. During his tenure, Hatwig managed Parkland’s network of ambulatory pharmacies. He also deployed ambulatory care pharmacists to serve as physician extenders in subspecialty clinics, created a disease management training program, and instituted a computerized antibiotic and emergency dosing program in the Special Care Nursery to prevent overdoses in neonates.

Hatwig has made numerous presentations about the 340B program, innovative ambulatory pharmacy services, and drug cost containment strategies. He served as Chair of the ASHP Council on Administrative Affairs and is a reviewer for AJHP.

Siska has provided national leadership on the adoption of healthcare IT by articulating its value and focusing on how pharmacy informatics and medication management supporting systems may be leveraged to advance pharmacy practice and improve medication use across the continuum of care.

During his early career, Siska was a Clinical Pharmacist and Pharmacy Supervisor at Mayo Clinic Hospitals. As healthcare organizations began investing in and implementing transformative healthcare IT initiatives, Siska directed his attention to pharmacy informatics.

He is a Past Chair of the ASHP Section of Informatics and Technology and received the Distinguished Service Award in 2010 for his contributions. He has served on numerous healthcare IT advisory committees and task forces, including the National Quality Forum Healthcare IT Structural Measures Steering Committee, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Task Force on Electronic Prescribing Software Standards and Data Storage, and the Pharmacy Health Information Technology Collaborative Workgroup.

Siska is the primary author of ASHP’s Statement on the Pharmacist’s Role in Clinical Informatics and co-authored the technology briefing paper for the 2010 ASHP Pharmacy Practice Model Summit. He also is a frequent author and presenter on a number of healthcare IT and pharmacy informatics-related topics.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s 45,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.

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